Chapter 5
Axel stepped out of the apartment complex with a gleeful smile. A small bag hung over his shoulder, containing all his personal belongings. His scruffy brown hair gleamed under the bright sun hanging high in the sky, making him squint his dark green eyes.
"Get moving, boy," Sergeant Cross urged in his deep bass voice. "Oval waits for no one."
Axel picked up his pace as he approached the transport vehicle. Like him, other students from the apartment complex were already waiting to board. Some of them spotted Axel and exchanged confused glances amongst themselves.
"Isn't he supposed to be joining the Collectors?" one of the boys with dirty blonde hair asked.
"I thought so," another agreed. "He had no ability since I knew him."
"Maybe he finally awakened. Still doesn't change the fact that he's weak. Bet a cat could take him on," another mocked and a few of them exchanged brief laughters.
Axel ignored their jabs as he walked toward the vehicle. Let them keep talking, for now. Once he leveled up and got his ability, they would shut the hell up. For now, he'd stick with physical strength.
"Alright, you little weasels, get in the damn vehicle!" Cross barked at the murmuring students.
The vehicle was soon on the move, and Axel finally relaxed. The hard part was over. But an even harder one awaited him at the academy. Earlier, when Cross had scanned for any active mutated gene, he hadn't found anything.
That made Axel a bit worried, because when he looked at his system interface, it said he was human.
[User: Axel Vaelon]
[Race: Human]
[...]
It didn't say mutant, but he convinced himself that maybe the system just needed an update or something as games did. He chose not to worry about it…except, this wasn't a game, was it?
After a while the transport vehicle came to a slow, hovering stop beside another apartment complex. So far, they had made three stops. The vehicle wasn't full yet, meaning more students would be coming aboard, and they did.
More students shuffled into the transport vehicle, and before long, the bus was almost filled. Just before the door closed, someone else stepped in, a skinny looking teenager.
His large blue eyes swept over the bus, searching for an empty seat. The many eyes that stared back at him made him visibly nervous. He tried to act composed but was doing a terrible job at it.
Axel, who sat at the back completely oblivious to the newcomer's nervous state, suddenly received a system message.
[New Mission Update: Make a new friend before the day runs out.]
[Reward: 5 EXP]
Axel's eyes widened with greed at the sight of the message. He smirked, realizing he could earn 5 EXP easily, all he had to do was make a friend.
But then, his smirk faltered. Here's the thing about Axel: he didn't have any friends. His lack of ability had been a major reason for that, and over the years, he'd grown socially distant and awkward. He couldn't talk to people without fumbling over his words. How was he supposed to all of a sudden, make a new friend?
That's when his eyes landed on the nervous teenager at the entrance. Looking at him, Axel saw a reflection of himself, skinny, confused, an outcast...nervous as hell. He decided that if anyone needed a friend, it was this guy.
"Psst! Over here," Axel signaled, waving his hand. The boy's face lit up at the sight and he immediately walked over to the empty seat beside Axel.
"Th…thanks," the boy said nervously.
"Sure thing, mate," Axel replied with a smile. He expected the system to send a message confirming his completed mission, but no such thing happened.
'The hell? I made a friend, didn't I?' he wondered. Then it hit him, he didn't even know the boy's name, and the boy didn't know his. That must be why he hadn't received his reward yet!
"I'm Axel, by the way," he said, extending his hand toward the boy.
"Rick. I—I'm Rick," he replied nervously, shaking Axel's hand.
Axel couldn't help but notice how small his hands were. Could he even throw a proper punch? One could only imagine the kind of trouble he must have faced growing up in a world like theirs.
Even after learning his name, Axel still didn't receive anything from the system. He wanted to curse out loud but restrained himself, he couldn't afford to draw attention to himself and Rick. He decided to keep trying. 5 EXP was too good an offer to pass up.
"So, Rick, what's your ability?" Axel asked, keeping his gaze on him.
Still visibly nervous, Rick managed to answer. "Er… water. I can control water."
"Hydrokinesis? Super cool, bro."
"Y-yeah, super cool… except I haven't used it since I was five," Rick muttered, fidgeting.
Axel's smile faltered a little, but he quickly fixed it. He placed a hand on Rick's shoulder.
"Well, that's why we're going to the academy, right? You'll learn to control your ability," he said reassuringly.
Rick shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."
DING!
[Mission complete: Make a new friend before the day runs out.]
[Reward received: +5 EXP]
[EXP: 55/100]
'Yes! That's what I'm talking about,' Axel cheered inwardly. He'd finally earned his EXP.
But then, guilt started to creel inside of him. He hadn't befriended Rick because he wanted to, but because he wanted to gain some EXP. In a way, he kinda used the poor guy..
Axel quickly reassured himself it was for the best. Besides, it's not like he was going to stop being friends with Rick. Rick wasn't the only one who needed a friend. He did too.
Suddenly, Rick asked, "What about you?"
Axel raised a brow. "What about me, what?" he asked, having completely forgotten about their conversation.
"Your ability," Rick chuckled.
"Oh, yeah, right… my ability," Axel said with a nervous laugh. "Well, I can uh… I am…"
What was his ability again? Oh, right, he hadn't received one yet.
Before he could respond, the vehicle began slowing down until it came to a complete stop. Sergeant Cross stepped into the open space in the middle of the vehicle and stood still.
Everyone inside looked at him, confused, until he stretched his arm forward. Steam began building up beneath his palm, and a faint gas started emitting from his nose, flowing downward and spreading across the floor of the vehicle, covering every inch of it.
The students didn't even have time to panic before they began passing out, falling into a deep slumber. It was sleeping gas, and Sergeant Cross had the ability to create it.
Rick was already out cold, his body was limp and he nearly slid off his seat, but Axel quickly caught him and pulled him back.
As soon as the gas hit Axel's nose, the system's translucent interface popped up.
[System has detected a foreign substance in the air.]
[Substance Identified: Halothane.]
[Resistance is active.]
[-1 Resistance, -1 Resistance…]
[Host has successfully resisted the substance: Halothane.]
"All right. They're all asleep. Let's get moving," Cross signaled to the operator.
Unbeknownst to Cross and the driver, everyone had succumbed to the sleeping gas, except one person.
Axel sat silently in his seat, pretending to be asleep.